Cody Stokes, moderator: Cody Stokes is a director of films, documentaries, and commercials. Recipient of the Princess Grace Film Award, Cody’s film work has received a number of accolades from festivals and screened around the world.  His first narrative feature film, “The Ghost Who Walks,” won the Jury Award at the 2018 US in Progress section of the Champs-Elysées Film Festival and Best Narrative at the 2019 Bushwick Film Festival. “The Ghost Who Walks” is currently available on Netflix. Commercially, Cody has directed work for companies such as  BMW, Toyota, GMC, Yahoo!, AT&T, American Express, Federal Express, Nike SB, Jack in the Box, and ESPN.

Chris Benson: Chris is a creative professional filmmaker with more than two decades of experience as an director, editor, producer, and cinematographer. Over the past 20 years, has served as director of photography on films, commercials, documentaries, and other productions for entertainment-industry giants such as Paramount Pictures and the Syfy Channel. Chris has worked on a wide range of feature films, including the Oscar-nominated feature “Up in the Air” and such independent movies as “Tonight She Comes,” “Bad Grandmas,” “We Need to Talk,” and “The  Makings of You” (aka “Never My Love”). Chris has also produced, filmed, and edited dozens of TV and digital advertising campaigns for major corporations and influential political clients around the country. Throughout his career, he has lectured on the topic of film production at festivals, corporations, and schools, including Webster University, his alma mater. Among his other accomplishments, Chris has filmed music videos for iconic artists such as Nelly, Chingy, Murphy Lee, Lil Wil, Yo Gotti, and Richard Marx.

Kamau Bilal: Kamau, a graduate of Webster University, is a Black American filmmaker based in Central Missouri. Kamau was named one of 25 New Faces of Independent Film in 2018 by Filmmaker Magazine. His documentary short “Baby Brother” had its world premiere at Sundance in 2018 and its international premiere at Sheffield DocFest. The film was selected as one of seven shorts to participate in the Sundance Short Film Theatrical Tour, where it was shown in four countries and more than 70 cities. His doc short “Crown Candy,” co-directed with David Wilson, premiered at DOC NYC and won a jury prize at the St. Louis International Film Festival. In 2016, he photographed the Emmy-nominated documentary “Stories Women Tell,” directed by Tracy Droz Tragos (“Rich Hill”), which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and aired on HBO. As an editor, he cut the New York Times Critic’s Pick “A Stray,” directed by Musa Syeed (“Valley of Saints”), which premiered at SXSW in 2016. He served as the director of photography for the “30 for 30” film “Long Gone Summer,” directed by AJ Schnack, which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival and aired on ESPN; and for the doc feature “Where the Pavement Ends,” directed by Jane Giloolly, which screened at SLIFF in 2018. He teaches production classes at the University of Missouri and is currently writing his first feature film, to be set and filmed in the city of St. Louis.

Peter Bolte: Peter, a native of the St. Louis area who’s now back in the city after many years in Brooklyn, is an award-winning filmmaker and artist. His cinematography credits include the “The Booksellers,” which premiered at the New York Film Festival and screened at the St. Louis International Film Festival (SLIFF) in 2019; the Emmy-nominated HBO documentary “Casting By” (SLIFF 2012); and the 2015 documentary “Thank You for Your Service.” Bolte both directed and shot the features “All Roads Lead” (SLIFF 2013) and “Dandelion Man.” He’s also directed and shot short films, music videos, and commercials. Other credits include being in the Artist Academy at Lincoln Center as part of the 2013 New York Film Festival. Films that he’s shot have screened at such venues as the Toronto International Film Festival, Vancouver International Film Festival, and DOC NYC.

Ryan Samul: Ryan, a graduate of Webster University, is a director of photography with experience in features, television, music videos, and commercials. Most recently, Ryan has shot episodes of the CBS show “FBI”; the thriller “Hide & Seek,” directed by Joel David Moore; “Haunt,” directed by Beck & Woods; “Strangers: Prey at Night,” directed by Johannes Roberts; “Experimenter,” directed by Michael Almereyda; and “Cold in July,” “We Are What We Are,” and season 1 of “Hap and Leonard,” all directed by frequent collaborator Jim Mickle. Additionally, he has shot music videos such as Big Sean's “Fire” and Animal Collective's “Summertime Clothes,” and multiple commercials for clients that include Kia, Lexus, Beats by Dre, Canon Pixima, Google, H&M, LG, and BMW.